Storage cabinet



a :1 ED 11 IEI Jan. 18; 1944. T. M. EDISON 2,339,627

STORAGE CABINET Filed April 5 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Him h |IIIH= MuMINIMUM Patented Jan. 18, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT emer- STORAGECABINET Theodore M. Edison, West Orange, 7 Application April 5, 1941,Serial :No. 386,984 6 Claims. (01. 312 -152) This invention relates tocabinets, and especially to cabinets for the storage of material-suchfor example as metal stockin the form of strips, rods or tubes and thelike, of random lengths.

Such material is most commonly stored in horizontal arrangement. Thisproves quite unsatisfactory, however, in many respects. Any at tempt atan efiicient space utilization results in the material being visibleonly from the ends, so that it is impossible to know the lengths of theseveral pieces without withdrawal for inspection. Withdrawal ofmaterial, either for inspection or for use, is a burdensome operationunless the material being withdrawn is near the top of its group. It isattended by scratching of the pieces of material against each other. Thefloor-length requirement-already large if long pieces are to bestored-is eifectively doubled by the room needed for withdrawal. Thefloor-area requirement can be minimized only by vertical pyramiding ofcompartments, attended with the necessity for climbing to see andwithdraw material in and from the upper compartments.

It is an object of my invention to provide a cabinet, for the storage ofmaterial of the class described, in which these and other disadvantagesof the horizontal storage arrangements are obviated.

More specifically, it is an object to provide a cabinet in which thestored material is readily visibl without disturbance. 7

It is an object to provid a cabinet from which the desired pieces ofstored material may be removed with great ease and with aminimum ofabrasion against and disturbance of other material.

It is an object to provide a cabinet requiring a minimum-floor lengthand floor-area. v

It is any object to provide a cabinet from which the stored material maybe removed without the requirement for appreciably more area than thatoceupiedby the cabinet itself.

It i an object to provide a cabinet of the class describedwhichshall beof simple construction, and adapted to various volume requirements witha minimum number of special parts.

It is an object to provide a cabinet of the class described which shallbe of exceptional sturdiness and of which. the load shall be welldistributed over itsbase area.

7 It is an object to provide a cabinet of th class described which maybe lockedup in extremely simple fashion.

It is an object to provideavariety of individual constructionalfeaturesiaci-litating the loading and unloading of the cabinet, withoutcompromise-of its simplicity of construction.

'It is an object ino'st-efiicient y o utilize the space within thecabinet.

It is an object to provide-an especially large ratio of visible area tovolume of the storage space.

In the description of my invention hereinafter set forth, reference ishad to the accompanying drawings,inwhich: v I

Figure 1 is a front elevational viewer a cabinet in which'my inventionhas been embodied, with the sections of the cabinet shown in theirnormal positions; g 1

Figure 2 is atop-plan view of the cabinet, with the several sectionssimilarly positioned;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the cabinet, with all but one of thelefthand sections in their displaced positions and. with that onesection 'inpartially displaced position;

Figure 4 is a. vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line 44 ofFigure 3;

Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 ofFigure. 3;

Figure 6 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view taken along the lineB6 of Figure 5;

V Figure 7 is an enlarged top plan view of one of the sections of thecabinet; and

Figure 8 is a bottom plan view of one of the sections.

In embodying .my invention I formfia cabinet comprising a number ofvertically pivoted sections each of which may be subdivided, as willhereinafter appear, to form several side-by-side vertical compartmentseach of relatively small cross-sectional area; in these compartments thematerial is stored. Each of the compartments has an openside or face,the material normally I being retained from falling out of this side byappropriate cross-members hereinafter explained; some of these, however,are readily removable, so that longpieces. of material may be removedsideways while maintaining their vertical orien-.

tation.

There is preferredly contemplated, for the several sections, a normalarrangement such that the open faces of an the compartments will behidden, and the cabinet may be said to be closed. In order to expose theopen compartment faces of any section, it isdesirable that the sectionbe swingable to a displaced position which brings the plane of thosefacesinto a substantial angular relationship (such as degrees) with thenearestvertical surface. I have :foundthat a verysatisfactory'arrangement of the sections, to

tends)those sections to the side of the desired. one, in the directionin which that one must be swung, being first similarly swung. i

An especially desirable arrangement of cabinet is one wherein thesections in the lefthand portion of the cabinet normally extenddiagonally forwardly and leftwardly, and those in the righthand portiondiagonally forwardly and rightwardly. When the cabinet is fully closedthere will be a rearwardly directed wedgeor V-shaped space between thelefthand and righthand sections. The operation of exposing the opencompartment faces of any section then amounts simply to swinging as manysections as are required to shift this wedge-shaped space from itsnormal central position to just beyond the section in question.

Further, the generally triangular" spaces respectively existing betweenthe extreme sections and the usually desirable right-angular end membersof the cabinet may be utilized-equipped with shelving, for example-andeither may be exposed by the samemanipulation of sectionsas is requiredfor access to the contents of its respectively adjacent section.

Having thus described the more. general'arrangement of a cabinetaccording to my invention, I may refer to the'drawings in presenting amore detailed description of a typical embodiment. The base of thecabinet, designatedas I, may be a horizontal plate having itsrear edgereinforced by an upturned flange la, and having angle irons 2' welded toit at its respectiveextremities. Vertical end members 3 may be securedto the angle irons 2; each of theseend members may have a portion- 3afolded inwardly for a distance along the back of the cabinet, and thisportion may be secured to the base flange la so that the bottom of eachend section is very thoroughly secured to the base I. Between the endmembers at the top of the'cabinet is secured a top rail 4; this rail maybe the horizontal portion of an angle iron, whose vertical portion 4ahangs down at the rear of the rail and forms the actualmeans of itsattachment to the portions 3a of the end members 3. Means are providedin'the stationary portion of the cabinet for establishing respectivepivoting axes for the several sections. Thus at the base I each suchaxis maybe established by a respective post 6 secured to the base'andextending upwardly therefrom to engage a hole (hereinafter mentioned) inthe bottom of the respective section. At the rail 4 each axis may beestablished I tion l3, from the rear vertical edge of which there aresuccessively right-angularly folded a relatively narrower rear portion14 and a still narrower flange l5, and from the forward vertical edge ofwhich there are successively folded a forward portion E2 and a flangeIi, the latter parallel with the wing portion i3. The angle which eachforward portion I2 forms with the respective wing portion 13 may be thatobtuse angle (for example, approximately degrees) which (or thesupplement of whichyit isintended that the section shall form with theplane of the pivoting axes when the cabinet is closed. If this angle beso chosen, and if the width of the forward'portion [2 be madesubstantially equal to thedistance between successive pivoting axes,then when the cabinet is closed the forward portions l3 of successivesections will form a substantially continuous single plane.

' It will be understood that the occupation of the intended angularposition by either extreme section upon cabinet closure may be insuredby so placing the pivoting axis of that section that the section thensubstantially abuts against some portion of the end member 3. Forexample, the forward edge of each end member 3 is desirably reinforcedand finished with a narrow inwardly extending flange 3b; and the edgebetween flange H and forward portion E2 of the adjacent section maysubstantially abut against the inner edge of, and be aligned with, thisflange 31) when the cabinet is closed-and at that time eachsuccessive'section will be in substantial abutment against itspredecessor.

The individual sections as so far described may be interchangeablyemployed for the righthand and lefthand portions of the cabinet-the endof the section which is used for the top in equipping one portion of thecabinet being used for the bottom in equipping thetother portion.Because of the identity, excepting for the complementary arrangement,between the righthand and'lefthand complete sections, furtherdescription will be confined to a reference to the particularlyillustrated one, of the lefthand sections.

It may here bementioned that the ability to employ the same structurelI-l2-l3l4-I5 interchangeably for the righthand and lefthand sections isan important manufacturing convenience in the handling of the largemetal sheet work which is required in their formation. And it may alsobe pointed out that with the similarly formed sections used in the twocabinet portions, the two substantially continuous planes which theforward portions l2 form in the respective portions when the cabinet isclosed, though spaced from each other, are aligned with each other.

The individual sections may be further described, with special attentionto the arrangements for retaining each section in the cabinet. To thetop marginal area of the inside surfaces of the portions l2-l3-l l ofeach section there may be weldeda suitably formed reinforcing strip It.To the inner surface of the portion of this strip which is in contactwith the rear section portion l4 there may be welded a heavy verticaltube I1; this may extend for a distance below the strip 16, and may befurther welded to the rear section portion I4 below that strip (as wellas to a partition hereinafter mentioned) for thorough security. The tubel1 extends upwardly beyond the top of the section, and forms a post forpivotally engaging the hole 5 in top rail 4.

Slightly above the bottom of the section there is 18a welded to the wingportion l'3,and'a. wider upturned flange l8b along its other side, theend portions of the latter flange being welded to the inside surfaces offlanges II and ii. In the horizontal portion of the Z-bar l8, close tothe rear section portion? and in alignment with tube l1aboven1entioned;may be a hole l 9'adapted to fit around and-be pivotallyengaged by the post 8 abovementioned.

Animportant feature of the construction isthat the load of each sectionand its contents-is not carried by the pivoting means 5--I"| and 6-19-these being employed simply to establish the lateral'positionandpivoting axis of the section, and being free of lateral strain(excepting such incidental and minor strain thereon as may result froman asymmetrical loading of the section). The load of the sectionand itscontents is carried by a large castor 20, held to the center of thebottom of the Z-bar l8 by a suitable castor bracket 20a, and having ahorizontal axis substantially intersecting the pivoting axis of thesection. Throughout the range of'swinging' of the section the castortravels over the forward port'ion of the-base I. This portion, beingrelatively removed from the reinforcing flange l a, is relativelyflexible; and accordingly it may yield sufliciently to establishessentially flrm=contact with the floor on which the cabinet rests,undereach section. This construction not only provides a large bearingarea for the several sections, but also involves a minimum demand forrigidity in the upper stationary portions of the cabinet.

The rail -4 is positioned {so that, when the section is in place in thecabinet, the railis at a distance above the top of the section slightlygreater than the extension of post 6 above the bottom of the Z bar l8.Accordingly the section is readily removed by raising it sufliciently toclear post 5, then swinging its bottom portion slightly forwardly, andfinally lowering the section that the tube l1 disengages the hole in therail.

Each section may be vertically divided into compartments, threecompartments C having been illustrated in the drawings. For this purposevertical partitions 2| may be secured in place in the section, as bywelding of a flange 2 la of each to the inside surface of the wingportion i3. These partitions may extend from the wing portion to theplane of the flanges H and I5 of the section. While only two partitions2| are required to create the three compartments, I prefer to employ athird in a plane adjacent to the forward side of the pivot tube l1 andhole l9, thereby obviating an excessively deep pocket behind the flangel5. This third partition may also be welded to the flange I 5, and inturn the pivot tube I! may be welded to it for additional security.

Attention may now be given to the storage of material in thecompartments. I have found it desirable that the bottom of thecompartment be slightly yieldable, to avoid damage to the ends ofmaterial which may be dropped into final position and for alliedreasons, but at the same time not permanently deformable. To meet thisspecification I employ. a relatively thin sheet metal bottom 22, restingon a block 23 of non-metallic material such as hard wood, and this inturn resting on a slab 24 of rubber which rests on the 2- bar [8. Whilethis bottom construction may be provided integrally for the threecompartments of each "section, with the partitions '2 l terminatingimmediately thereabove, 'I have preferred to carry the partitions downto the Z-bar l8 and to provide the described bottom constructionseparately in each compartment.

For retaining relatively short pieces of material from falling out ofthe open faceof the compartment, I provide strips such as 25 secured(between flanges II and i5) horizontally across those faces of thecompartments at relatively low levels. Such pieces of material areloaded into the compartment by inserting them downwardly behind thestrips 25, and their bottoms are retained behindthe flange l8b oftheZ-bar (which of course extends upwardly above the level of the bottomof the compartment). I have found, however, that occasionally a piece ofmaterial is inserted in such an orientation that its bottom comes intoline with the top of that flange, so that it would tend to catch thereonor even to deflect outside thereof, instcad'of passing therebehind.Accordingly I have found it desirable to provide a guiding flange 26extending upwardly and outwardly for a short distance from the top ofthe Z-bar flange It. This, in cooperation with the strip 25 a shortdistance thereabove, effectively insures the bottom of the materialpassing into the desired position behind the Z-bar flange.

While the strips 25 alone are eifective to prevent relatively shortpieces of material from falling out of the open compartment face, theydo not alone preclude the top portions of material from leaning outsubstantially beyond that facesince the bottoms of the material mightrest relatively near the wing portion 13. To prevent this lastcondition, and thereby to preclude the top portions from leaningappreciably outwardly, I slope the bottom of the compartment downwardlytoward the flange I827. This is conveniently done by forming the woodblock 23 in wedge shape.

This practise, however, heightens the tendency of material, particularlythin material, to catch in the angle between the compartment bottom andthe flange i827. I have found that this tendency may be, eliminated bybending the metal bottom 22 upwardly, at its edge adjacent flange I81),into a vertical portion 22a. secured against that flange. Further, anespecially simple way of providing the guiding flange 26 abovementionedis to form it outwardly and upwardly from the top edge of the verticalportion 22a just men- .tioned, the flange 26 thus being integral withthe bottom 22.

The use of the fixed strips 25, while desirable near the bottom of thecompartments, is undesirable at higher levels since it would interferewith the insertion and removal of relatively longer pieces of material.Accordingly at higher levels I employ a small number of coil springs 27,tensicned horizontally across the open faces of the individualcompartments. These springs are readily removable; and arrangements areprovided to accommodate them at adjustable heights, so that a minimumnumber may be made most effective. These arrangements are the provision,in flanges H and I 5 and in the two partitions 2i on either side of thecentral compartment, of

a vertical series of holes 28 into which the ex: tremities of thesprings may be hooked.

It will be understood that while thesprings will be removed for theloading or unloading of the very longest pieces of material, theirdeformable nature permits them to be left in place during the loadingand unloading of even medium -le'ngth pieces without significantlyimpairing the latitude :of "manner of handling the material. And it willbe understood that the stored material, and in particular the longerpieces, will seldom rest in contact with the retaining means (strips 25or springs 21), in view of the sloping bottom 22.

The tops of the compartments are left open, so that material even longerthan the height of the sections may be stored. But since notall thematerial to be stored is likely to be long, it is usually desirable foran eflicient use of the space within the section to increase the numberof the compartments by subdividing the height of at least one of them.To do this there may be secured in place at a desired height, forexample in the center compartment, a basket 29. This may be formed witha bottom 290. having downhanging side flanges 29b, and an integral faceportion 290 having inwardly turned flanges 29d, the several flangesbeing adapted to be bolted to the partitions 2! on either side of thecompartment.

Within the space bounded by the end members or housings 3 and theadjacent extreme sections when they are in substantial abutment againstthose housings, there may be provided further utilization ormaterial-holding means. Usually it is desirable to have a certain numberof shelves for storage of bulkier but unelongated material; andessentially triangular, flanged shelves 3!! have been illustrated asdistributed throughout the height of these .end housings.

The section construction and mutual arrangement above described lendsitself readily to locking of the cabinet. Thus to the front flange 3b ofeach of the end housings there may be loosely pivoted a respective bar3!, the free end of'which is provided with an elongated hole 3ia; and arespective hasp 32 may be carried by each of the inmost sections of thetwo portions (righthand and lefthand) of the cabinet. The bar 3|,normally hanging vertically downwardly in front of 3b, may be swung upto horizontal position and its hole 3|a engaged over the respective hasp32 when the respective portion of the cabinet is closed; and a padlock33 then looked through the hasp effectively locks up that entire portionof the cabinet.

Handles 34 may be provided on the forward portions H! of the severalsections; if they are placed at mid-height, they become included in thereversible portion of each section.

It may be pointed out that for different cabinets of different numbersof sections, the only parts which need to be peculiar to the individualcabinets are the base I and the rail 4 and lock bars 3iand these arepeculiar only in respect of length.

Labels 35, held by holders 35a, may be provided on the forward portionsof the several sections, indicating the nature and sizes (for example,the diameters) of the material stored therein. In connection with thearrangement of the contents of the several sections, I have found that agreat improvement in ease of identification of the material within eachsection may be achieved by a departure from the usual practise ofplacing adjacent each other (which, as applied to my cabinet, would meanin the same section) materials of immediately consecutive diameters (e.g., A 1% 7 This practise leads to confusion at the time of withdrawal ofa desired piece-for the differences in diameter are too small to bedetected by eye, and one must either rely on actual measurement or onthe material having been stored in a and in section #5, 4'',

special Way within the section (which may'not actually be the case, andwhich furthermore may Instead of following this rial, up to aconsiderable number such for example as five, in respective successivesections, the next series of a similar number of consecutive diametersin those same consecutive sections, and so on, for example for a totalof three series. Typically, the sequence of usual diameters from up to Amight be stored in five sections'as follows: In section #1, in section#2, %4", /32, %2"; in section A2", %i", he"; i s n %4". A6". %2". Igeneral, the groups of diameters in the several sections will tend toconstitute uniform geometric progressions-in the example given, in

the ratio of approximately 1:1.4:2. Obviously material of any one of thediameters in any section may be readily distinguished by inspection frommaterial of the other diameters within that section.

While I have disclosed my invention in terms of a particular embodiment,I do not intend that all its aspects shall be limited by the details ofthat embodiment; but rather in the appended claims I undertake toexpress the proper scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a cabinet construction comprising a stationary portion, thecombination of a plurality of vertical sections respectively pivoted tosaid stationary portion in their rear portions along vertical axes whichare disposed substantially in a single plane, and a stationary endhousing ineluded in said stationary portion and extending forwardlyessentially at right angles to the plane of said pivoting axes at adistance from the pivoting axis of the nearest of said sections, each ofsaid sections comprising a wing portion and a forward portion extendingfrom the forward edge of said wing portion at an obtuse angle thereto inthe direction of said end housing, said nearest section being swingableto bring its forward portion into substantial abutment against said endhousing and each of the other sections being swingable to bring itsforward portion into substantial abutment against the next sectionnearer said end housing.

2. In a cabinet construction comprising a stationary portion, thecombination of a plurality of vertical sections respectively pivoted tosaid stationary portion in their rear portions along vertical axes whichare disposed substantially in a single plane, and a stationary endhousing included in said stationary portion and comprising an end partextending forwardly essentially at right angles to the plane of saidpivoting axes at a distance from the pivoting axis of the nearest ofsaid sections and a front part extending from said end part in thedirection of said sections substantially parallel to said plane, saidnearest section being swingable into substantial abutment against saidend housing and each of the other sections of said plurality comprisinga wing portion and a forward portion extending from the forward edge ofsaid wing portion at an obtuse angle thereto in the direction of saidend housing and being swingable to bring the forward portion of eachinto substantial abutment against the next section nearer said endhousing, whereby the cabinet may be closed, said forward portions andthe front part of said end housing then being dis posed at leastsubstantially in a single plane.

. 3. In a cabinet construction comprising a stationary portion, thecombination of a plurality of vertical sections respectively pivoted tosaid stationary portion in their rear portions along relatively closelyadjacent vertical axes disposed substantially in a single plane, each ofsaid sections comprising a uniformly wide wing portion and a forwardportion extending from the forward edge of said wing portion at auniform obtuse angle thereto for a distance substantially equal to thespacing between successive pivoting axes, the directions of the forwardportions of the sections in the righthand and lefthand portions of thecabinet being rightward and leftward, respectively, whereby the cabinetmay be closed, with the forward portions of the sections in said twoportions of the cabinet respectively forming substantially continuoussurfaces separated from each other but in the same plane.

4. In a cabinet construction comprising a stationary portion, thecombination of a plurality of Vertical sections respectively pivoted tosaid stationary portion in their rear portions along vertical axesdisposed substantially in a single plane, and two stationary endhousings included in said stationary portion extending forwardlyessentially at right angles to the plane of said pivoting axes at adistance to the right and at a distance to the left of the righthand andlefthand end sections, respectively, said end sections being swingableinto substantial abutment against the respective said end housings, eachof the sections intermediate said end sections comprising a wing portionand a forward portion extending from the forward edge of said wingportion at an obtuse angle thereto, the directions of the forwardportions of the said intermediate sections in the righthand and lefthandportions of the cabinet being rightward and leftward, respectively, andthose sections being swingable to bring the forward portion of each intosubstantial abutment against the next section nearer the respective endhousing.

5. In a cabinet construction comprising top and bottom stationaryelements, the combination of a cabinet section adapted to receivematerial to be stored; means pivoting a top portion and a bottom portionof said section to said top and bottom stationary elements respectivelyalong a vertical axis, said two section portions being displaced fromthe horizontal center of said section and being rigidly interconnected,and said section being freely movable up and down along said axis; and acaster assembled on a horizontal pivoting axis to the bottom of saidsection, said caster receiving the entire vertical thrust of saidsection, and the place of assembly of said caster to said section bottombeing at least substantially directly beneath the center of gravity ofsaid section whereby to at least substantially free the entirety of saidsection-pivoting means from lateral thrusts.

6. In a cabinet construction comprising a stationary portion, thecombination of a plurality of sections adapted to receive material to bestored; casters assembled on horizontal pivoting axes to the bottoms ofthe sections respectively; a plurality of means pivoting the rearportions of the respective sections to said stationary portion alongrespective vertical axes while permitting sufiicient section movementalong those axes so that said casters always receive the entire verticalthrust of the respective sections; and a bottom portion included in saidstationary portion, having a, relatively rigid rear part with which thelower parts of said pivoting means are associated, and comprising arelatively less rigid plate extending forwardly from said rear part,adapted to rest on a floor, and forming a base on which said casters maytravel and which under their loads deforms over low regions of the floorto provide continued firm support from the floor for said sections.

THEODORE M. EDISON.

